UW-Stout News

UW System president to address UW-Stout planning session

July 11, 2014

University of Wisconsin System President
Ray Cross on Tuesday will deliver the keynote address at the UW-Stout Visioning
Session, which kicks off the university's strategic planning effort for the
next five years.

The Visioning Session, to be held in the
Memorial Student Center, also will feature remarks by Chancellor Charles W.
Sorensen and Robert Meyer, who will succeed Sorensen Aug. 16. Sorensen has led
UW-Stout for 26 years and was instrumental in establishing the current
strategic planning process. Meyer, who worked for UW-Stout for 25 years until
2008, is president of the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College. He was named
as the seventh UW-Stout chancellor by the Board of Regents in May.

About 80 invitees are expected to attend
the Visioning Session. These include legislators, members of the UW System
Board of Regents, business leaders, community members, education leaders, alumni
and UW-Stout faculty, staff and students.

Cross' address is expected to center on
current issues facing higher education.

"The university is taking a
stakeholder-centered approach to crafting its new strategic plan," Cross said. "This
visioning session is a vital and valuable part of aligning UW-Stout's focus and
resources with the needs of the region. I'm looking forward to listening and
participating."

Sorensen will discuss the progress that
UW-Stout has made through its strategic planning process, which included
winning the 2001 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Meyer will discuss
the importance that strategic planning will play in his administration.

"The purpose of the event is to gather big
ideas that will guide our planning process for the next five years," said
Meridith Drzakowski, assistant chancellor for Planning, Assessment, Research
and Quality. "Themes from this event will be reviewed with the campus community
in August and used to develop five-year goal statements."

A panel made up of Cross, Meyer and state
Sen. Sheila Harsdorf will summarize the themes that emerge from eight breakout
groups.

"We are excited to hear from our external
stakeholders about their vision for where UW-Stout should be headed in the
future," Drzakowski added. "Their ideas will be shared with the campus community
in August for feedback and used to develop goal statements that will guide our
planning process for the next five years."

Jacalyn Weissenburger, provost and vice
chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, will welcome the participants in
the Great Hall of the student center and will introduce Cross and Sorensen. Meyer
will be introduced by Sorensen. Weissenburger also will facilitate the reports
by the breakout groups.

UW-Stout,
Wisconsin's Polytechnic University, has more than 9,300 students in 45
undergraduate majors and 23 graduate majors, including one doctoral
degree. UW-Stout, established in 1891, prides itself on the success of its
students in the workplace, with a graduate employment rate at or above 97
percent for recent graduates. The university was awarded the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality award in 2001.